The Mammoth GT - Royal Enfield Continental GT - November 2014

deville_56 · Nov 15, 2014

It's raining bikes at home

All started when brother-in-law fell in love with Hero Splendor Classic Cafe Racer for it's design (knowing how crap the bike is and what will be the level of troll he has to face if he take it). Waited till it hit the showroom. He wanted something cheap to replace his old Hero Honda Passion. Me and brother did not want Splendor Classic ending up in the garage, so brainwashed and took to RE showroom to show Continental GT and make him drop the idea of Splendor and take a Vespa. He test drove it and instantly fell in love with it and was adamant about taking it only. Came back in week, booked one, paid full amount in a week, took delivery in 3 days. Brother was regretting who was sad for not taking GT is also now happy. Happy family. A short simple story [evil]

Every parts used in the bike is top notch from reputed manufacturer's except the ball-shaker engine, which is a let down for the character of the bike, but there is hell lot of refined torque. In no time it climbs to 90s. Sweet spot is 80-90. R15ish riding posture needs getting used to, but still more upright than R15. Till you find the perfect posture, there will be wrist, back or thigh pain.

In short, the fastest, quickest, most powerful, most handling and most expensive RE ever. It's too sexy that people ring bells/chase us to take snaps and talk about the bike. It handles well, brakes well, accelerates well, rides well and of course vibrates well.

On-road price: 2.1 L
Ex-showroom: 1.89 L
Insurance: 4.8 k
Road tax: 15.2 k

Yellow was sexy, but too flashy for a family man, who is also a college professor [:D]

, only reason to choose red over yellow.

First Glimpse. Ready for delivery.

Home sweet home.

When the monsters met. He owns this Polo

Garage full [evil]

First Service >> 500 km

deville_56 · Nov 15, 2014

The name says it all Harris Performance UK designed the chassis and tuned the bike.

Harris design chassis. Doubl-craddle chassis, different from rest of the Royal Enfields. Designed for performance and handling.

Front view.

Rear view.

Front and rear are Pirelli Sports Demon tubless with tube installed because of the spoked rims. Front is 100/90-18 and rear 130/70-18. Wished it was tubeless. Rims are light weight aluminium.

All cast parts.

Engine is a 535 cc electronic FI engine with mere 29 bhp, but 44 Nm torque. Accelerates like hell, not as quick as Duke 390, but more refined. Engine redline is 5500 rpm, more like a diesel [;)]

The sculpted tank, adds character to the bike and makes it stand out amongst rest of the bulls.

Rearset foot peg. Foot might foul with kicker with people with bigger toes. Might have retained the kicker for old school character unlike other fuel injected bikes.

Paioli shocks. Italian superbrand.

Retro lights, no clear leans.

The clip on give more character. Though it is downsloping, it is set high. Rising posture is a compromise between R15 and FZ or maybe the Duke.

Swingarm is semi ellipitcal and adjusting chain and removing tyre no pain like old bulls.

Offset foot peg with linked gear shifter. Unlike other bikes chain is on other side and front sprocket sits inside crank case and inspecting/changing chain sprocket DIY is next to impossible.

Cafe racer seats. GT comes with single seat as stock, but there is optional 2 seat. Bike is registered as 2 seater by default and can add footpeg and seat at extra cost. 4k for seat and 600 for foot pegs. Seats are easily swappable. It is releasable by cable like other bikes.

Wiring is shoddy like other RE. See the insulation tapes and all.

Also see the improper fit rubber cap on starter. Starter is a Denso unit, made in Thailand.

Horns are Minda. Dual horns. Loud, but not irritating like Pulsar horns.

Mudguards are plastic. Mudguard and suspension support are the same.

Best part. Brembo brakes.

Stock mirror is plastic. There is optional aluminum bar-end mirrors, which looks sexy but costly at 4k. Stock and bar-end offers great view, but useless once the bike starts vibrating.

Provision for bar-end mirrors.

deville_56 · Nov 15, 2014

Cockpit view

Retro fuel filler cap. Not hinged.

Double-barrel instrument cluster with white backlit. Unlike other RE, GT got fuel gauge and also 2 trip meters. Redline is at 5.5k rpm. Speedo also comes with miles per hour reading.

Switchgear is typical RE. Design shared with many other bikes like FZ and R15. Note the choke lever in an FI bike.

Silver finish buffed lever. Similar to Classic.

Rear brake is Bybre, a Brembo-subsidiary (old KBX)

Both brakes are equipped with steel-braided brake hose. Removed front and rear mudguard extensions as soon as we hit home.

Front brake master cylinder is Bybre though the caliper assembly and disk plate are Brembo.

Left side cover. Openable with key. Right side cover is bolter though and hoses the air filter.

A mammoth 14Ah battery sits in it for all the electric needs. Tool kit also contained here. Some space left for papers.

Cable to release the seat.

Underseat. Also houses rear brake fluid reservoir. Easy access.

Chassis runs the perimeter of the seat.

Banking sensor. Shuts off the engine in event of fall.

Seat release latch.

Heat shield on exhaust. But like every other RE, touching exhaust will cause severe burns. Got one the first day itself.

Keys

Taillamp assembly is full plastic, chrome part looks cheap.

Indicator stem is pretty long and part flexible.

Owner's manual looks ubercool.

deville_56 · Nov 30, 2014

1st service done. 500 km. Took 2 days. Engine buffing has to be done as it was dull at the time of delivery. They did as promised.

Bill:
Oil Filter - 93
Oil - Liquid Gun 15W50 - 2.75 L - 852.49
Consumables - 224
Total - 1170

Next service at 3k km though oil change is at 6k km. Claims to have a drain interval of 6k km.

At SVC. Though none seen on road, there were 7 GTs for service the same day. 2 of them yellow.

Back home.

Just noted slight speedo error.

La RE effect. Starter cover screw came off with vibes.

deville_56 · Dec 3, 2014

GT's day out [evil]

First puncture.

Tubes inside tubless tyres. Mess. Need to remove tyre from bike to get it repaired.

It's hell removing the tyre. Tools provided by RE ansolutely useless and needs to remove exhaust to remove tyre if you decide to use them alone. And tyre won't come off. disk will foul with caliper mounting point or the spacer won't come off. Had a hard time removing and refitting. Took 2-3 hours. Anyone attempting this should get proper tools and a second person to help.

Sprocket is fixed on bike, not removable. Root cause of all headache.

Caliper not fixed on bike, another flaw.

1.25 inch screw

Another small nail.

Ambylovers · Dec 4, 2014

Hi,
Congratulations on your new Royal Enfield Continental GT. Wishes to clock many more miles without issues. Whether seats are feeling comfortable for you comparing to your KTM.

deville_56 · Dec 5, 2014

Ambylovers said:

Thank you thank you.

Seats are softer than Duke, but posture + vibes is a big issue. I get hand pain in stop and go traffic and back pain or ball pain other times.

deville_56 · Feb 17, 2015

December 2014: GT gone it's first long ride with it's elder bros.

January 2015: Leak and Fall

The start of series of unfortunate events. Oil leak began like every other bull, it's in genes. Root cause broken kicker O-rings. Apart from the day of delivery, kicker was never touched.

Then the mail van knocked it down when parked thanks to the extraaaaaaaaa-wide exhaust, which stands 1-1.5 feet away from bike, kinda almost width of handle bar. Broken mirror, misalignment of clipons, broken foot peg and a not-so-noticable dent or rather speck on tank.

Visited ASC when 2nd service was still 800 km away to fix the oil leak.

Damage:
Side Cover Grommet - 6 (Side cover bush, lost since beginning. It tends to tear and fall off every time tool box is opened.)
Kick Starter Oil Seal x 2 - 18 x 2
Side Cover Gasket - 63
Foot Rest LH - 126
Oil was not charged, it was way below level.

February 2015: 2nd Service

Just routine. Bill came to 140 INR. Topups and chain lube. No oil change. Drain interval 6k km.

OT: This Mammoth came for service there. Crowd was uncontrollable, so they took it inside before I could get a better pic. Made by Bulleteer Customs. Build and paint quality was par above excellent. It ran on a bored up 540 cc engine.

Ambylovers · Feb 17, 2015

Hi,
Royal Enfield are not caring about the quality it seems. Oil Leaks were visible in almost 75% of the bikes they manufacture.

EnfieldMafia · Feb 17, 2015

Excellent review deville_56. Just want to ask would i go for Conti GT or Desert Storm or wait for 600cc new RE......??

deville_56 · Feb 17, 2015

Ambylovers said:

50 years on same engine and still can't fix the leak.

EnfieldMafia said:

Again, they can't finesse their 50 year old engine and going for their uproven engine will be lot risky. Either wait for a year after the launch of the new engine till they are proven worthy or go for either of the two depending on your taste.

deville_56 · Mar 24, 2015

RE oil is no good for 6k km drain intervals. Bike losing its charm. No dip in oil level after last service, but engine is not revving smoothly and bit rougher and more vibrating. Earlier they used to give the option of using Motul 5100, now only Royal Enfield Liquid Gun, some rebranded Servo or something.

Some night shots

allhyundaicars · Mar 24, 2015

even i think quality has not improved.
my 6 years old thunderbird has petrol leaking problem from the cap itself , friend bought an electra last year , same problem.
https://www.google.co.in/search?esp...0.msedr...0...1c.1.62.serp..4.0.0.2OcHr0PNSJA

the self starter stopped working after a year or so in my bike as well as my friend's 2014 classic.
https://www.google.co.in/search?esp....msedr...0...1c.1.62.serp..12.0.0.luzKfcFpolA

and i have the same oil leaking problem , below the engine ( front part ) and i always thought it's because i didn't maintain it properly ( didn't ride that much ) but now i think these problems can happen anytime no matter what bike is it.

these problems will crop up , all i can say is just enjoy the bike

deville_56 · Mar 25, 2015

allhyundaicars said:

That is unacceptable given the premium sticker price we pay for it and they have been into business for some 50 years making the same engine in various (so called) improved version.

I am true-to-core RE hater [evil]

deville_56 · May 29, 2015

Crossed 6k and got it serviced. Bill was repeat of 1st service.

Bill:
Oil Filter - 93
Oil - Liquid Gun 15W50 - 2.75 L - 852.49
Consumables - 224
Total - 1170

Had 2 good addons and 1 medium trip and a long trip.

Bought bar end mirrors. Costed 4k. Original GT accessory.

Its full aluminium.

Got a blue tint and 100% antiglare. Clear view and premium feel that stock mirror. No vibes at all.

Installation was simple. Provision already in bike.

Final looks.

Second addition. A small mighty exhaust. Upswept Megaphone. Bought from Sans Classic Parts some 4 years back for a friend's Bullet Standard, but never used. Thought of trying and ......